Hot Cocoa Series
by AerinM
Summary: A small collection of fluffy, holiday-themed oneshots. Each story is centered on a different Fablehaven relationship. Appropriate for all audiences who are okay with some kissing. Ch 1: Warrenessa. Ch 2: Patton/Lena. Ch 3: Brackendra.
1. Christmas Surprise

This is nothing but pure Warrenessa fluff and sap. I wrote this as a gift fic for PointlesslyPoetic. :)

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 _ **Christmas Surprise**_

"Okay, how should we split this up?" Warren asked, rubbing his hands together as he contemplated the project before them.

"You take the trike, I'll handle the stockings and those last couple of gifts we bought the other day. I'll help you with the trike when I'm done, if you're still working on it by then," Vanessa answered.

Warren nodded his head. "Go team go," he said.

They worked quietly so as not to disturb their sleeping child (although that kid could probably sleep through anything). Warren first ran outside to grab his tool box, then came back inside to find that Vanessa had hauled the box containing tricycle parts into the living room. He grinned as he pictured his son waking up on Christmas morning to find a brand-new trike by the tree. Jack was sure to scream in excitement, and Warren was greatly looking forward to it.

Vanessa re-entered the room with a large bag containing a bunch of smaller items which she planned to place inside each stocking, then quickly put herself to work as Warren began to assemble the Spider-Man tricycle they had purchased for their son. After a minute or two of working in comfortable silence, Warren stood up and walked over to the old radio set they had in their living room and turned it on before returning to his position on the floor and pulling a wrench out of his toolbox. Vanessa watched him work with a soft smile on her face, then finished up her task and moved on to her next one.

She and Warren _might_ have overdone it a bit on Christmas gifts this year. Just a smidge. In their defense, though, Jack was an adorable almost-three-year-old who really was just finally getting a handle on the concept of Christmas, and his excitement over all things holiday-related this year constantly had them grinning. Of course they'd want to spoil the child who overreacted with every little thing anyone ever gave him. Every cookie was _the best cookie ever_ , every story told was _the best story ever_ , every adventure in the snow was _the best adventure ever._ It was hard to refrain from buying everything in sight when they knew he was going to have an excited meltdown with every gift he opened.

Vanessa absentmindedly hummed along to the music in the background as she worked on wrapping up the last two boxed gifts they had. She had been looking forward to this evening with Warren for a while now. Christmas Eve. Tomorrow was going to be special as well, but tonight was just for them.

"How are you doing over there?" Warren asked, snapping Vanessa from her thoughts. She glanced quickly at her surroundings and responded with, "Only one more box to wrap after this one. Do you need help?"

"Yeah, for a minute, if you don't mind," he replied. "I don't have enough hands."

Vanessa finished with the present she had been working on and then stood up and walked over to where Warren was. "What do you need me to do?"

"Can you hold this here for a minute? I just need it to stay still so I can press this part down and tighten the bolt connecting the two pieces. Yeah, just like that. Perfect."

Warren finished tightening the bolt, then smiled up at his wife and thanked her for her help. She kissed his cheek and went back to where she had been before in order to wrap that one last gift. "Cocoa and a movie after this?" she asked as she cut some shimmery green and gold paper and began taping it to the last box.

"That sounds perfect," Warren answered. "Which movie?"

"I don't care. You can choose."

"I get to pick, huh? Hmm…"

"No zombies."

"Pfft. Zombies aren't very Christmas-like."

"No horror films."

"Well if you're gonna restrict all of my options then why don't _you_ just pick the movie?"

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "I just want something lighthearted. I'm tired, it's getting a little late, and I don't want anything which will make me think too much."

"Fair enough. I'll figure something out."

"Done," she announced, placing the final gift under the tree and gathering the wrapping supplies she'd used. "Hey, Warr? I'll turn the kettle on, and then I'm going to run to the bathroom real quick. Make me some cocoa please?"

"Of course," he replied, smiling at her. He was just finishing up with the tricycle anyway.

When she returned to the living room, she found Warren sitting on the couch with two mugs of hot chocolate resting on top of the coffee table in front of him. Vanessa made her way over to him, sat down on the couch and then snuggled close to him and rested her head on his shoulder. She held a small rectangular box in one of her hands, which she rested in her lap. "Before you turn on the movie," she began, "I have something for you."

"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow and placed the DVD remote control on the coffee table alongside their mugs of cocoa, letting the opening advertisements play as he shifted his attention to Vanessa. She handed the box to him and smiled.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Open it and find out."

"You don't want me to wait until tomorrow?"

"I guess you can wait if you want to," Vanessa shrugged. "I just thought it'd be more special to open it now."

"Well alright then," he replied, a look of excitement crossing his face. "Do you want me to grab the gift I got for you?"

"Nah," Vanessa said. "I'll wait for tomorrow. It's okay. I just want you to open this one."

Warren kissed her cheek and then shook the box a little. "I'd say it's a watch, but it doesn't feel heavy enough for that," he guessed.

"Just open it."

He slid the ribbon off of one end of the box and lifted the lid, then paused. Vanessa looked at him, biting her lip as she waited for his reaction.

Something seemed to click in Warren's brain, and a tremendous smile graced his features. "Is this what I think it is?" he asked.

Vanessa grinned at him. "What do you think it is?"

"A positive pregnancy test?"

"Then yes, it's exactly what you think it is."

Warren threw the test and its box on the floor, then tackled Vanessa to the couch and peppered her face with kisses while she laughed at the way his facial stubble was tickling her. He sat back up after a little while and pulled Vanessa upright with him, placing her legs across his lap and wrapping his arms around her waist in order to pull her close.

"How long have you known?" he asked.

"A few weeks," she said. "I found out at the end of November and thought it'd be a great Christmas surprise, so decided to keep it a secret for a little while. We're due in June."

"We're due in June," Warren repeated, still grinning from ear to ear. "We're having another baby!"

"Yes, we're having another baby," Vanessa said, happiness etched into her tone of voice.

Warren pushed her back down onto the couch again and smashed his face up against her navel. "You hear that, little one?" he spoke through her shirt. "I'm your daddy! I'm so excited to meet you soon!"

Vanessa laughed. "I'm pretty sure the baby can't hear you yet."

"Of course you can hear me. Can't you, baby? I wonder what you're going to look like?"

With a contented smile on her face, Vanessa laid on her back on the couch as Warren continued to speak to her belly while she played with his hair. This was absolutely adorable, and his pure happiness was highly contagious. They hadn't exactly _planned_ to get pregnant, but they hadn't been opposed to the idea either. She was happy to have been able to surprise him. It wasn't easy, especially on those days when she was feeling sick or particularly tired, but the wait had been worth it to her.

She looked toward Warren when she realized he'd stopped talking to her belly and found that he was staring at her with an expression so tender that her heart melted even more. He stood up and straightened her up into a more comfortable position, then gently lowered himself onto the couch next to her and pulled her close.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Pretty good," Vanessa said. "Not too much morning sickness with this one so far. I've mostly just been more tired than usual."

Warren reached over and lightly rapped his knuckles against the wooden coffee table. "Let's hope it stays that way. You not being sick, I mean."

"For real," she agreed, wiggling a little so that she could move down on the couch and place her head on Warren's chest. Before she could get very far, though, he captured her lips in a kiss. She smiled at him when they broke apart, and he kissed her on the forehead.

"I love you," Warren stated. The sincerity in his voice alone was enough to send shivers down her spine. She felt lucky that Warren was a man who wasn't afraid to share his affection.

"I love you, too," she replied simply.

Warren's smile intensified again as he once again scrunched up on the other half of the couch and smashed his face up against Vanessa's belly. "You hear that, little one? Mommy and daddy are here and we love you!"

"Really, Warr, I doubt the baby can hear you."

He sent her a cocky grin and said, "Then I guess I'll just have to get closer, won't I?" Before she could ask him what he meant, he yanked her shirt up and placed his mouth directly against the skin of her belly before continuing to speak to the baby growing inside.

Vanessa shrieked in surprised laughter at his movements – again, the stubble on his face tickled her skin – and she placed her hands over her mouth to keep her laughter from becoming so loud as to wake their other child.

"Vanessa," he harrumphed in disapproval. "I'm trying to have a conversation with our baby. Hold still."

"I can't," she laughed. "You need to shave your face."

"Mommy thinks I need to shave my face," he said to the baby again, although this time he didn't place his mouth directly on top of her skin. "I happen to like my constant five o'clock shadow. Makes me look ruggedly handsome."

"Come here, Mister Ruggedly Handsome," Vanessa laughed, tugging lightly on his hair in order to encourage him to come back to her eye level again. He attacked her lips as soon as he was face-to-face with her again, and Vanessa happily reciprocated his actions.

In the background, their cocoa grew cold while the DVD menu played its music on repeat –

 _We wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year._

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I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a comment to let me know your thoughts! :)


	2. New Traditions

_This is based on a headcanon of mine that Patton had to teach Lena all about the human world after they were first married, and that Lena was enraptured by the mortal world due to its stark difference from life in the pond. As such, here is Patton and Lena's first New Year's celebration together. Fluff galore. A gift fic for hugoandmendigo and thatoneartyishperson, who are the biggest Plena shippers I know. I hope you like this!_

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"Patton, my love, you seem to be falling behind."

"Lena, my love, you need to slow down."

Lena turned more fully toward her husband and stretched her hand in his direction while asking, her voice brimming with mirth, "Do you require assistance?"

Patton smiled and accepted her proffered hand, however instead of allowing her to pull him in the direction she was headed, he seized the opportunity and yanked her close to him. Unfortunately for him, Lena had anticipated his action and used the momentum from his pull to spin herself underneath his arm and twist out of his grip, laughter escaping from her body as she skipped away. "We're going to be late," she said. "It's nearly midnight!"

"Yes, it's nearly midnight, and I believe you are ignorant as to where we're headed," Patton answered, rolling his eyes good-naturedly and grinning at his wife's antics.

Lena shrugged her shoulders and shot him a playful look. "I believe I can guess where we're going."

"You haven't been here before."

"True, however I know you, and I know what a hopeless romantic you are."

Patton chuckled and jogged to catch up to Lena, his hands clutched at the straps to the knapsack he was carrying on his back. "You love my romanticism."

"Indeed," she replied simply. Then, pointing with her left hand, she gestured to a small clearing on the side of the hill he had brought her to; it had an amazing view of the city in front of them. "There?" she asked.

He shook his head in defeat, but smiled at her nonetheless. "You are too clever for your own good."

"Is it truly cleverness or have you become predictable, Patton dearest?" She stopped walking and leaned toward his face, planting a kiss on his cheek before she once again ran ahead to their spot for the evening. Patton made his way next to her in short order and, as he arrived, she said, "This is absolutely beautiful."

"I take it you approve?" he asked, removing his knapsack and placing it on the ground.

"Most definitely. Well planned, Mr. Burgess."

Another smile graced his face as he took in the sight of his wife standing on the hill, facing the city in front of them. She couldn't see in the dark as well as he could, however it was a clear night and the stars and moon apparently lit the area well enough for her to run circles around him all the way up the hill. He was constantly amazed by the energy and exuberance she radiated at all times, most especially when she was excited about something. Seeing her so blissfully happy filled his chest with warmth and made him want to hold her and never let go.

He was hopelessly in love with the stunning woman in front of him, and he wholeheartedly accepted it.

Lena turned around to face him, then asked, "Is this another human tradition?"

Patton chuckled and snapped out of his reverie. "Of sorts. Most people don't travel quite so far to celebrate the New Year, but it's bitterly cold at home and I thought it would be nice to celebrate someplace warm." He unclasped and lifted the top flap of the knapsack, pulled on the drawstring to open it up, then removed a blanket from inside of it. Standing up with blanket in hand, he unfolded and laid it out onto the ground in front of them, then gestured for Lena to take a seat while he rifled through the knapsack again. She sat down and watched him work, curious about what he was up to. When he found what he was rummaging for, her face lit up.

"You brought cocoa?" she asked, clearly delighted.

"Of course," he answered. "I know what my lady loves."

She hugged his arm while he pulled the stopper out of the vacuum flask he'd brought with them and poured warm cocoa into a couple of small cups. As he passed one of the cups toward her, she said, "You spoil me."

"I would like nothing more than to spoil you for the rest of your life," he stated.

Lena looked deep into his eyes. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"I've asked myself that same question about you many times," Patton answered.

The sound of fireworks startled Lena and drew her attention back toward the city they were overlooking.

"What is this?" she asked, awe filling her tone of voice.

"Fireworks," Patton answered.

"But how are they made?"

"Explosive powder."

She threw a look at him over her shoulder and he knew she wanted more of an explanation. "I honestly don't know all of the mechanisms behind how to create fireworks," he said.

"They're beautiful."

"Yes, they are." He looped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She didn't resist, but rather laid her head against his shoulder, the top of her forehead nuzzling his neck.

"This is to celebrate the new year?"

"Yes. Not everyone celebrates with fireworks, however many people do."

"What other traditions are practiced?"

Patton smiled. "We kiss at midnight."

"Oh really, now?" she asked, looking up and planting a kiss on the side of his jaw with a sweet smile on her face.

"It's intended to bring good luck for the coming year," he explained. "A good omen for our love."

Lena hummed. "I like that idea."

"Me too," he said, kissing her forehead.

"Are there more traditions?"

"Yes. We toast to the new year." He raised his cup and told her to do similarly, then said, "To happiness, joy and love for our future together," then gently bumped his cup against hers and took a sip of the chocolatey liquid inside. Lena copied his motion, then questioned, "It's a dedication?"

"A dedication?" Patton mulled that over in his brain for a moment. "I suppose it is. I hadn't thought of it that way before. We're inviting good fortune for the new year."

"A lovely gesture," she said, relaxing against him once more as she continued to sip at her cup of cocoa and observe the fireworks in the distance.

Patton glanced at his pocket watch, then placed it back into his vest. "Two more minutes until midnight," he announced. Lena placed her cup of cocoa on the ground to her side and snuggled closer to Patton, who mimicked her actions and wrapped her in both of his arms.

"Lena, I love you with every fiber of my being," he said softly. "I can't imagine my world without you in it, and I am so happy to share my life with you. I hope the best for us for this coming year and the rest to follow."

"Patton?"

"Yes?"

"I love you as well." She pulled his face toward hers with her free hand and kissed him sweetly. "Thank you for showing me your world."

"Thank you for agreeing to be part of it," he said, meeting her lips with his once more.

The fireworks in the background began to explode with exponentially more gusto, casting colorful hues of light over the city and the surrounding hills. Parting from Patton for a brief moment, Lena said, "Happy New Year, Patton Burgess."

"Happy New Year, my love."


	3. Socks

Bracken wasn't sure _why_ this particular tradition had begun, but he wasn't about to complain. He treasured it.

Every year for Christmas, Kendra and Bracken filled each other's stockings with whatever they felt their spouse would appreciate. Chocolates, games, silly pens, books, stuffed animals… whatever was small enough to fit inside the oversized sock. There was only one rule regarding what could go into the stockings, and it was an unspoken one at that – they _always_ gave each other at least one pair of warm, fuzzy socks. And on the evening of Christmas itself, they would each wear their newly gifted socks while they created a bed on the floor in their living room and fell asleep to the sounds of a crackling fire in their fireplace.

As they wound down for the evening, Bracken found himself in the kitchen making hot cocoa over the stove the old-fashioned way with milk and actual chocolate (not the powdered stuff tonight). He and Kendra each had a sweet tooth, which pretty much meant that hot cocoa was their go-to drink of choice in the winter months. Eventually he decided that the concoction he'd been stirring for several minutes was both blended _and_ warm enough, so he turned off the heat to the stove and poured the liquid chocolate into a couple of mugs he pulled out of their kitchen cupboard. Laughter hailed him from the living room as he poured, and he cocked his head to the side as he wondered what had Kendra giggling so much. Grabbing both of the mugs, he exited the kitchen and made his way toward the sound of his wife's guffaws.

Upon spotting her, he quickly formed a theory as to what had happened. Kendra had been setting up their bed on the floor in front of the fireplace when she'd apparently tripped or something and had somehow found herself entangled in a bunch of blankets on the floor. She couldn't stop laughing at her own predicament, and her laughter spread through him like a contagion. In no time flat, he found himself chuckling along with her. He couldn't help it; she looked adorable at the moment, and it really _was_ a ridiculous situation to be in.

"Help!" she called out to him. "I've fallen and I can't – I can't get up!" More peals of laughter rang through the air.

"Of course, milady," Bracken said, setting down the mugs of cocoa and grinning as he tried to figure out how best to pry her free of her entanglement. "This is quite the accomplishment. How on earth did you manage to get so twisted up with all of these blankets?"

Kendra couldn't stop giggling long enough to explain it to him.

"Someone's feeling a bit silly tonight," he teased.

"True story," she responded, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself down. He let her breathe before he really took another look at his blanket-burrito-wife in an effort to undo her burrito-ness.

"Okay, I'm alright now," Kendra began once she'd stopped laughing so much. "It's really not even that funny. I'm just tired and probably had way too much sugar today." She giggled again, then cleared her throat. "I was carrying too many blankets and I tripped over my own feet while trying to set things up. Add a few good rolls to the left and right and, well… I did a good job of pinning myself to the floor." More giggles.

"It's not too bad. If I just pull this one here-" Bracken stopped talking mid-sentence as he yanked on one of the blankets, causing Kendra to roll over onto her back while simultaneously setting her free. "Perfect."

"My hero," Kendra responded, clasping her hands together as she raised her tone of voice up another octave or so.

"Always at your service," Bracken bowed, dropping his voice down another octave or so in return. "Here – stand up and I'll help set up the bed for tonight," he said, extending his hand in a gesture to help her get up. She accepted, and they worked together to get their sleeping accommodations in order; an absolute pile of blankets and pillows, just the way they liked it. Kendra put another log on the fire as Bracken retrieved their cups of cocoa. Once they'd settled into comfortable positions on the floor, he passed one of the cups to her and she scooted closer to him, showing off the pink polka dotted socks he had given her that morning and complimenting him on the _super fancy_ blue ones she'd given him (with unicorns on them of course, because this was _Kendra_ after all and she found that type of thing to be hilarious).

They sat together and sipped their cocoa while talking about how the day had gone and laughing at the shenanigans which had happened amongst their family. Vanessa had wiped the floor with everyone at Mega Scrabble (where they played with four game boards and combined all of the letter tiles) while Warren loudly complained about it and Dale kept telling him to shut up. All of the grandparents had taken to dancing in the living room at some point in time. Seth had arrived late from his girlfriend's house and had had to endure merciless teasing from Warren and Kendra as a result. Jack and Stella, the kids of "Warrenessa" as Kendra and Seth liked to call them, had absolutely been spoiled rotten by all of the adults – especially Marla and Scott. The evening with their family had eventually drawn to a close when Jack and Stella reached the point of sugar crash and Warren and Vanessa had taken them home to put them to bed.

As their conversation reached a natural ebb and the crackling fire turned to smoldering embers, Kendra placed their empty cups on a nearby end table and then tackled Bracken to the ground and laid on her side facing him, entwining their legs so that their socked feet touched each other.

He hadn't known that something as simple as fluffy socks and a bed on the floor could be so magical, yet somehow it was. This was definitely a tradition that Bracken loved.


End file.
